On a very warm and sunny December day I was in one of those moods where all I wanted to do was curl up in a cozy snowy cabin by a fire and read a book. But I was far from the mountains, so as an alternative, I decided to turn my home into a cozy den of yumminess and bake. I closed the kitchen blinds, turned on Christmas music and scoured the internet for recipes until I found this one for snickerdoodles - a cookie I was surprised to realize that I'd never tried to bake before. The recipe looked so easy and had incredible reviews so I thought, why not? Plus, I already had all the ingredients in my kitchen!

Ingredients

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

In your KitchenAid mixer cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture, mixing well between each addition.

The dough should not be sticky and should not be crumbly. If it is sticky, mix in flour one tablespoon at a time until it becomes not sticky. If the mixture is crumbly, mix in water one teaspoon at a time until the dough holds together.

Mix cinnamon and sugar together and place on a plate.

Measure dough with a 1/4 cup measure and roll into balls. Roll each ball to coat well in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place on a cookie sheet lined with a silpat liner or parchment paper.

Bake at 350?F for 12-15 minutes or until the center is just set.

Let cool 2 minutes then cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12 large cookies.

I've now made this recipe over a dozen times and have to say that it's by far one of the best (if not the best) cookie recipes I've ever made. My husband even dared to tell me that these taste better than the Neiman Marcus cookies that my family and friends are always asking for.

Before you bake these yourself, I thought I'd share a few helpful tips that I picked up along the way:

Make sure the butter is room temperature before you mix with the sugar. This is key! If you are impatient like I am, you can take the butter straight from the fridge, unwrap and place in a microwave bowl and zap for about 15-20 seconds before mixing.

The consistency of the dough is SO IMPORTANT. It shouldn't be too sticky or too dry/crumbly. If it's too sticky, you can add a little more flour a spoonful at a time. If it's too dry, you can add water one spoonful at a time until it's no longer crumbly.

Don't forget the Vanilla Extract! I forgot it one time and they weren't nearly as good

If you're making these for anyone besides your family (like for a dinner party or get together or something) then you should double or triple the recipe. These cookies go fast!

Enjoy! These cookies are really amazing! If you have any additional tips, please send them my way!

I absolutely love when fall arrives because it gives me an excuse to stay indoors and try new recipes that fill our house with aromas of the season- pumpkin, cranberry, baked apples, or in this case, a flavorful acorn squash.

If you've been to the grocery store lately, you've probably noticed that there is a plethora of winter squash available in all shapes and sizes. What I love most about these seasonal vegetables is that they are inexpensive and if cooked well, so incredibly delicious (and filling!)

Acorn Squash is something that I've always been curious about trying but there are so many different ways to go about it. Do you slather it in butter and brown sugar and eat it as dessert? Blend it into a soup? Bake it with Risotto? I wanted to try all of the above, and probably will at some point this season. For my first foray into Acorn Sqush baking, I decided to go with a sausage and apple stuffed acorn squash recipe I found on Pinterest several weeks ago.

The result: Once I had all of the ingredients chopped and the Acorn Squash baked (it baked in about 45 minutes) the process was incredibly easy. The best part is the stuffing like consistency of sausage, bread crumbs, sage and apple, results in melt in your mouth deliciousness. This recipe also has the perfect amount of spice and fall flavor. Find the original here.

Combine the melted butter, garlic, and 1/4 tsp sage. Brush the inside and outside of each squash with the butter mix. Place the squash on a cookie sheet, cut side up, and roast for 50-60 minutes, or until fork tender.

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage. When the sausage is browned, remove it from the pan and place on a paper towel lined plate, set aside. To the skillet add the onions, celery, and mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes. Add the apples and cook for another 2 minutes.

Return the sausage to the skillet then remove from heat. Season with 1/4 tsp sage, salt, and pepper. Stir in the panko and Parmesan. Add the egg and stir to combine.

Divide the stuffing evenly among the four squash halves. Return to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes. Yield: 4 servings.

First off- let me say that lactation is a topic I NEVER thought I'd write about on my blog, but then I started thinking about many people I know that have a woman in their lives who is either new to being a mom, will soon be a mom or is friends with a new mom. Because of this, I thought I'd share a cookie recipe that really helped me. Whether you decide to try to bake these cookies, share them, or order them, my goal of posting this recipe is to help make life for other new mom's a little easier.

My experience: The first week after delivering baby Stella, I was having a really hard time keeping up milk supply. Apparently my tiny 5 lb 15 oz baby needed a lot more food than my body could initially produce. I was frustrated, but didn't want to switch to formula. We pressed on and incorporated pumping into the routine every hour between feedings. Slowly but surely my milk supply increased. Unfortunately, my tiny baby was still hungry ALL THE TIME and I could only pump up to 2 ounces per 45 minute sitting. Several very frustrating and tearful days later, a girlfriend texted me and said she left some lactation cookies on my doorstep. Lactation cookies? I had no clue what they were. I googled and found out that a lot of women use them to help increase milk supply. I thought, why not? So I tried one. The following morning, I began my normal pumping/feeding routine and was astonished when I produced 8 oz of milk in just 30 minutes. I was so proud of myself I thought about freezing the 8 ounces of milk and keeping it as a trophy of my accomplishment. Instead, I used the milk to feed baby Stella as I scoured the internet for ways to make these miracle cookies at home.

What I discovered is that Lactation Cookies help with milk supply because they have the following three ingredients:

Oats: This nutritional powerhouse provides plenty of whole grains, fiber, iron and an abundance of healthy vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Brewers Yeast: A rich source of B-vitamins and amino acids, this is a natural remedy used to help stimulate and increase the production of breast milk.

Flax Seed: Provides an abundance of Omega-3 fatty acids that are necessary for brain development.

The Lactation Cookie recipe I created is similar to my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, the only difference is the addition of the brewers yeast and flax seed, both of which I found at Whole Foods.

We now bake and ship fresh Miracle Milkookies every Tuesday! We also have a ‘Klean’ version that is dairy free, soy free, gluten free and vegan. You can try them for 15% off your first order with code ‘Moremilk’ at www.miraclemilkookies.com.